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About the TMDD Summit

The Transatlantic Migrant Democracy Dialogue (TMDD) is a transatlantic network of diverse migrant and refugee leaders. We work to strengthen democracies by collectively building powerful movements and communities.

The International Democracy Summit is TMDD’s main annual activity, bringing together dozens of leaders living in Europe and the US, but coming from around the world to facilitate mutual learning between leaders about innovative, successful, and sustainable methods and to design and support joint actions. This year, the summit will take place on the 14th and 15th of November.

Why a Summit? 

 The Transatlantic Migrant Democracy Dialogue (TMDD) is a transatlantic network of diverse migrant and refugee leaders. We work to strengthen democracies by collectively building powerful movements and communities. As members of TMDD, refugee and migrant leaders across the Atlantic connect and support each other by sharing resources and skills, building coalitions, developing strategies and using the platform of established organizations to bring their cause forward. 

The European Democracy Summit is TMDD’s main annual activity, bringing together dozens of leaders living in Europe and the US but coming from around the world to facilitate mutual learning between leaders about innovative, successful and sustainable methods and to design and support joint actions. Since 2017, more than 170 migrant and refugee leaders have joined the TMDD network after participating in our annual Summit, hosted each year by one of our TMDD national members: 2017 Germany, 2018 Ireland, 2019 Greece and 2020 Finland (online). These Democracy Summits enable TMDD to fulfill its goal for operating as a migrant-led network founded on the conviction that migrants must be able to organize themselves and to learn from each other in order to actively participate in US and European democracies. 

Based on the experience of our 2020 online summit, TMDD’s migrant leadership team are proposing a hybrid model for the 2021 Summit, with 100 migrant leaders (40 new leaders in Sweden, 30 new leaders online and 30 alumni and facilitators) meeting together over four days during the week of 15 November. 

Why Sweden? 

 The 2021 Summit would allow the migrant leadership team to expand the TMDD network to a new major destination country, Sweden. Support Group Network (SGN) applied and succeeded to join TMDD and host this year’s Summit, thanks to the initiative of a 2017 TMDD Summit participant, its Founder Adnan Abdul Ghani. In line with TMDD’s vision and mission, SGN is a non-profit NGO initiated by refugees to collaborate with local societies. SGN empowers and encourages its membership of migrant and refugee leaders to self-organize their own needs-based initiatives and partnerships that challenge and change the traditional refugee reception and perception. Since 2014, SGN has grown to 5000+ members and 13 projects benefiting 24,000 migrants in 13 cities and 16 refugee camps. SGN confirmed that their members have never been able to participate in something like a TMDD Summit in Sweden—an international, strategic retreat organized by and for migrant and refugee leaders. Now that SGN has grown and confirmed its role in the sector, SGN is ready to join TMDD to develop its national umbrella structure and develop 2 

new campaigns and communications specifically to counter the rise in disinformation and far-right mobilization. The TMDD migrant leadership team is also interested in Sweden to join the network to learn from their extensive practices on community-based service-provision, political participation and partnership. The Swedish Summit will take place an SGN -led retreat center in Vänersborg, home to the largest refugee camp in Sweden where SGN is most active. SGN confirmed that Vänersborg, near Gothenburg, is easily accessible by public transport for leaders from its members and other umbrella organizations. 

The Immigrant Council’s annual Integration Conference brings together national and international migrant experts and activists as well as allies to discuss key areas of integration to share ideas and identify positive actions to promote effective migrant integration and inclusion in Ireland.

The Irish Integration Conference is the Immigrant Council of Ireland’s annual coming together of national and international experts in the areas of migration and integration to share ideas and identify positive actions to promote effective migrant integration and inclusion in Ireland.

The theme of our 2022 conference is coalition building to achieve equality, recognising that we are stronger when we work together. This year, this event is taking place over 3 days next month in Dublin, Galway & online, from 10^th May to 12^th May.

For more information: https://www.immigrantcouncil.ie/campaign/integration/integration-conference

About the Immigrant Council of Ireland

The Immigrant Council of Ireland is a human rights organisation and Independent Law Centre. We support and advocate for the rights of immigrants and their families and act as a catalyst for public debate, legal and policy change.

In recent days, we have been witnessing unimaginable suffering and violence aimed at Ukraine and Ukrainian people. We unconditionally condemn the Russian invasion, and we stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people. 

The solidarity expressed by communities in neighboring countries and across Europe, as well as the solidarity of European governments opening channels for movement of Ukrainian refugees is to be commended. Solidarity is one of the most beautiful acts of humanity, and Europe truly stood up to the challenge.

However, we are deeply concerned and disappointed by the standard of reporting on this crisis presented by international journalists who use stigmatising and divisive language, and blatant racist stereotypes. We are also deeply concerned and disappointed by confirmed reports of racism and discrimination at the borders of Ukraine. Black and refugees of colour fleeing Ukraine were stopped from crossing the border to safe countries, and refugees from other parts of the world were branded ‘uncivilized’. The only people who are ‘uncivilized’ are those who degrade humanity by conditioning solidarity based on the hierarchy of people’s worth. 

In recent days we have also witnessed double standards in the responses of the European and US governments in their refugee policies. Many European countries lifted visas and opened their doors to Ukrainian refugees. The EU and the US have triggered the Temporary Protection Measure to offer safety to Ukrainian refugees. Commendable actions, however, these are actions that were not granted to any refugees before.  These gestures highlight the inconsistency in policy response and highlight  how humanitarian response is unevenly applied to refugee communities, especially Black and refugees of colour. 

Many members of our network have direct experience of crossing borders while fleeing war and persecution. Many of our members had to face lack of solidarity when seeking refuge in Europe.  These new measures bring joy and hope that we have arrived at a point where all refugees will be welcomed in an equal measure, and their experiences will be shared by other people seeking safety. 

 It is unbelievable to observe how unapologetically comfortable European States are in conditioning solidarity based on people’s skin colour and country of birth. Therefore we are calling on expanding all forms of solidarity to all fleeing war in Ukraine, and war in any other places. European states proved that a more welcoming refugee policy is not only possible but it is easy to do. We are urging EU and other governments to provide protection to all people fleeing war and persecution as per 1951 Geneva Convention and Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Let us not degrade the value of solidarity by conditioning it on people’s skin and eye colour. Let us remove double standards from solidarity and let us apply a  welcoming refugee policy to all. 

The Transatlantic Mirant Democracy Dialogue (TMDD) is a network of diverse migrant and refugee leaders. We work to strengthen democracies by collectively building powerful movements and communities across Europe and the US.